The following Reviews have been undertaken by the Social Affairs and Health Scrutiny Committee since 2001:
- Domestic Violence
- Play Area for Disabled Children
- Community Equipment Services
- Oral Healthcare of Children in Darlington
- Facilities for Nursing Mothers
- Delayed Transfers of Care
- Obesity in Children
- Darlington: A Breastfeeding Friendly Town
- Employment Opportunities for People with a Learning Disability
- Tenancy Succession Arrangements
- CRB Checks in the NHS
- Smoking in Warden Control Premises
- Stroke Symptoms
- Older People's Strategy
Further details of these Reviews and links to the final reports are outlined below.
Domestic Violence
This Review looked at the Council's approach to the aims and objectives of the Darlington Domestic Violence Forum and investigated the introduction of a Council-wide strategy to address Domestic Violence. Following the recommendations of the Scrutiny Committee, the development of a Domestic Violence Policy was commissioned and a Council policy adopted by Cabinet on 12th November, 2002. We have continued to receive progress reports on the implementation of this at six monthly intervals and have recently adopted the policy as a joint policy between the Council and Darlington PCT. View the Council's Domestic Violence Policy - pdf document
Play Area for Disabled Children
Established to look at areas of best practice and the options available to the Council in developing an inclusive play facility for Darlington, this Review was influential in the development of a brand new inclusive play area, which was opened in North Lodge Park on 17th August, 2004. We hope that the children in Darlington continue to enjoy these play facilities for many years to come. View the Play Area for Disabled Children Review Group's Final Report - pdf document
Community Equipment Services
In looking at the development of the Council's provision of Community Equipment, the Review Group undertook a number of site visits to identify areas of best practice and following the suggestion of a number of areas for improvement, we continue to monitor the implementation of our recommendations. View the final report of the Community Equipment Services Review Group - pdf document
Oral Healthcare of Children in Darlington
Following the publication of a survey on the dental health of five-year old children living in County Durham and Darlington for 1999/2000 a Review Group was established to investigate the disturbing levels of dental disease which was found in some of Darlington's schools. This review looked at the awareness of parents and children on issues of dental health, local initiatives for improving children's dental health and the possibility of a milk fluoridation programme for schools in Darlington. View the final report of the Oral Healthcare of Children in Darlington Review Group - pdf document
Facilities for Nursing Mothers
Further to a project commissioned by the Department of Health to explore the needs of women in Sure Start areas in relation to breastfeeding, it was found that breastfeeding rates in Darlington were well below Government targets and that the factors affecting the amount of women who chose to breastfeed included the availability of accessible and comfortable facilities for breastfeeding. As a result of this a small Review Group was established to look at the Council's own facilities for nursing mothers around the town and the policies in place for nursing employees of the Council to return to work. View the final report of the Nursing Mothers Review Group - pdf document. This Review led to a bid to the Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) to undertake a more detailed action learning project entitled Darlington: A Breastfeeding Friendly Town. More details of this project are contained at the bottom of this page.
Delayed Transfers of Care
The Community Care - Delayed Discharges Act 2003 came into force on 5th January, 2004 and placed a new duty on Councils to reimburse the NHS for any patient occupying an acute bed who qualifies for community care services under the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 at a rate of £100 per patient per day. As a result of this, a Review Group was established to look specifically at the Council's Delayed Transfer of Care performance indicator and the financial implications of the new charging arrangements to the Council. View the final report of the Delayed Discharge Task and Finish Review Group - pdf document
Obesity in Children Task and Finish Review Group
Established as a joint review with the Lifelong Learning Scrutiny Committee this Group investigated the problem of obesity in children in the Borough and sought to determine the extent of the problem in Darlington and considered the work of Sure Start in promoting healthy diets for children and the number of schools participating in the 'free fruit' scheme. It was concluded that both locally and nationally there were many ongoing initiatives to address this problem. Suggestions were however made on potential areas for further investigation. View the final report of the Obesity in Children Task and Finish Review Group - pdf document
Employment Opportunities for People with a Learning Disability
As part of the Valuing People agenda, this Group looked to identify ways of maximising employment opportunities for people with a learning disability using existing partnerships with the Morrison’s Enterprise Trust and the Council’s Economic Regeneration Department. It concluded that awareness raising and ongoing publicity was key to finding further placements and that the Scrutiny Committee could assist in raising the profile of the issue. View the Final Report of the Employment Opportunities for People with a Learning Disability Task and Finish Review Group – pdf document
Tenancy Succession Arrangements
A small Group of Members investigated the statutory background and local factors that had led to the review of Council policy in relation to housing succession and were happy with its operation. View the findings of the Tenancy Succession Arrangements Task and Finish Review Group – pdf document
CRB Checks in the NHS
Highlighted as a concern during the Committee’s consideration of local Trusts’ Annual Health Check interim declaration, a Group was established to investigate the guidance given to NHS Trusts in respect of CRB Disclosure and determine the levels and costs of Disclosure undertaken by each Trust. Although the findings highlight some variations in practice, the Committee is happy that all Trusts comply with the existing guidance but have made some best practice recommendations for each Trust to consider. View the findings of the CRB Checks in the NHS Task and Finish Review Group - pdf document
Smoking in Warden Controlled Premises
Following concerns raised by wardens to the Community Services Department and a recommendation from the Tenant's Board, the issue of smoking was referred to the Committee. As such a Task and Finish Reiew Group was established to look at the issue in more detail, in light of recent changes to legislation regulating smoking in public places. View the findings of the Smoking in Warden Controlled Premises Task and Finish Review Group - pdf document
If you would like any further information on these Reviews please contact abbie.metcalfe@darlington.gov.uk
Stroke Symptoms
Two Members of the Health and Well Being Scrutiny Committee undertook a piece of work to raise awareness of Stroke Symptoms in Darlington. In partnership with Darlington Soroptimists and Darlington PCT, the Health and Well Being Scrutiny Committee on behalf of Darlington Borough Council have produced a stroke information card and will distribute it across Darlington. The photograph below, shows the support of the partners, at the launch of the card.
If you would like any further information on these Reviews please contact abbie.metcalfe@darlington.gov.uk
View the findings of the Stroke Symptoms Task and Finish Group - Report
Appendix 1
Appendix 1 (i)
Appendix 1 (ii)
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Older People's Stratgey
Members of the Health and Well Being Scrutiny Committee have been involved in drafting the new Older People's Stratgey "All Our Futures - A Strategy for Later Life in Darlington 2008 - 2021". A copy of the Stratgey can be accessed via the link below:-
View the All Our Futures - A Strategy for Later Life in Darlington 2008 - 2021 - pdf document
The Committee has been chraged with scrutinising and monitoring the Action Plan. As part of their role Members were recently consulted upon the prorities outlined in the Stratgey. Members asked the general public to rank the prorities in order of the personal preference and the results will influence the Committee's work for the new municiapl year.
If you would like any further information on these Reviews please contact abbie.metcalfe@darlington.gov.uk
The photographs below show Members consulting with the public.
Darlington: A Breastfeeding Friendly Town
In November 2003, The Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) was awarded £2.25 million from the Department of Health to run a three-year support programme to assist councillors in their new powers to scrutinise health. More information on the health scrutiny support programme can be found on the CfPS website
As a result, this Scrutiny Committee submitted a bid for funding and was one of nine authorities in the country, and the only one in the region, to be successful in its bid for £20,000 for 'Darlington: A Breastfeeding Friendly Town'.
View the terms of reference for Darlington: A Breastfeeding Friendly Town - pdf document
The funding has been used to:
- raise awareness
- consult with interested groups
- evaluate the success and lessons learned from the project.
Following positive feedback from Cabinet and consultaton with our partners on the recommendations, we have handed over responsibility for this initaitive to the Health Improvement and Social Inclusion Group (HISIG) of Darlington Partnership. We will monitor the progress of this initiative on an ongoing basis.
View the final report of the Darlington: A Breastfeeding Friendly Town project - pdf document
